Jacqui Smith: The Privy Council of intercept as evidence was published on 30 January 2008.
	In his statement to the House of 6 February 2008 my Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister affirmed his commitment to the principle of using intercept as evidence and the case for doing so provided that national security could also be protected. He also agreed that the programme of work recommended by the Report be taken forward, with the objective of legislation. At the same time, the Privy Council Review itself, acknowledged that before legislation could be brought forward, further extensive work was required.
	I am pleased to be able to report on progress. I am also having placed in the House Libraries copies of a progress report to my Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister on behalf of the Advisory Group of Privy counsellors, comprising the Right Honourable Sir John Chilcot, the Right Honourable Sir Alan Beith MP, the Right Honourable Michael Howard QC MP, and my noble Friend the Right Honourable Lord Archer of Sandwell. I should like to express my thanks to the Advisory Group for their diligent and constructive support for this programme of work. I should also like to echo their praise for the "commitment and thoroughness with which the interception community has sought to address the issues".
	The Privy Council Review rightly recognised that interception is of vital importance to public protection and national security. It also recognised that the issues raised by the potential use of intercept product in evidence are complex. This has proved to be the case, as the Advisory Group's report makes clear. However, we have now reached the end of the programme's first phase, with work to design in detail the model recommended by the Privy Council Review, now largely complete. Work is now in hand to flesh out the detailed guidance required in advance of testing the practicalities of the model.
	However, it is clear a number of key issues remain to be resolved if the objective of facilitating the prosecution of terrorist and other serious crime with the assistance of intercept as evidence is to be achieved. As the Advisory Group observes there is an intrinsic tension between meeting legal needs and the operational requirements identified by the Privy Council Review. It is also not yet clear whether the key safeguard of our being able to revert to the current regime should implementation fail would itself be legally sustainable.
	The Government agrees with the Advisory Group that "securing the intended increase in successful prosecutions while ensuring fairness of trials remains difficult and may not prove possible in most complex cases". The Government agrees on the importance of a further stage of work being taken forward urgently to test the viability of the model developed.
	The Government's intention remains to be in a position to bring forward legislation for use of intercept as evidence as soon as possible. However, it believes, given the importance of interception for national security, including the ability to prevent and disrupt serious crime and terrorism, that if the results indicate that there is no practical solution, they should be accepted. Equally, if it is necessary to take further time to iron out the detail of an apparently workable solution, we should do so rather than be driven by the legislative timetable.

Geoff Hoon: Subject to Parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for Transport departmental expenditure limit (DEL) for 2008-09 will be decreased by £11,270,000 from £13,239,009 to £13,227,739,000 and the administration budget will be increased by £11,200,000 from £281,926,000 to £293,126,000.
	Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital, are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 £000 
			  Change New DEL  
			  Voted Non-voted Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 113,222 360,641 6,043,726 786,274 6,830,000 
			 of which:  
			 Administration budget 11,250 -50 293,126 — 293,126 
			 Near-cash in RDEL -343,196 358,141 5,105,243 979,839 6,085,082 
			 Capital 227,060 -227,060 6,360,478 922,751 7,283,229 
			 Depreciation(1) -485,133 - -852,898 -32,592 -885,490 
			 Total -133,851 133,581 11,551,306 1,676,433 13,227,739 
			 (1 )Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL, since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting 
		
	
	Resource change: Administration (total increase of £11,200,000)
	Voted: total increase of £11,250,000
	RfR1
	(i) Take up of £11,200,000 near cash end year flexibility for administration pressures (£8,045,000)
	(ii) £50,000 near cash transfer from non voted for administration pressures
	(iii) Within the Administration Budget £3,800,000 of non-cash headroom has been converted to near cash, permitted under Treasury guidelines, to meet pressures in estates and aviation
	Non Voted: total decrease of £50,000
	Transfer of £50,000 to administration near cash voted provision.
	Resource change: Programme (total increase of £462,663,000)
	Voted: total increase of £101,972,000
	RfR1
	(i) Treasury agreed increase of £462,718,000(*)( )non cash to reflect the accounting treatment of changes in fair values arising from the implementation of accounting standards FRS 25 and FRS 26 for: London and Continental railways (£300,000,000); Network Rail's Debt Issuance Programme (£164,886,000); and the Air Travel Trust Fund (£-2,168,000); partially offset by
	(ii) A net transfer of £360,691,000 to non voted provision as follows:
	a. 369,383,000 near cash headroom from rail: for the net operating losses of London and Continental railways (£252,000,000); to the departmental unallocated provision in respect of programme slippage into 2009-10 (£104,928,000); and to cover a shortfall in Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency receipts (£12,455,000);
	b. £4,045,000 near cash headroom from cleaner fuels and vehicles to cover a shortfall in driver and vehicle Licensing Agency receipts:
	c.£500,000 near cash from other transport grants transferred to railways to allow payments to both the Rail Passenger Council and the Bus Passenger council to be administered more efficiently;
	d. £2,500,000 non cash to reflect the write back of Voluntary Early retirement provision; partially offset by
	e. £15,737,000 near cash use of Consolidated Fund Extra Receipts within the Departmental Expenditure Limit by the Highways Agency.
	(iii) A transfer of £55,000 near cash to the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills for Government skills
	Non-Voted: total net increases of £360,691,000
	(i) £360,691,000 transferred from voted provision of which £358,191,000 is near cash and £2,500,000 non cash.
	Capital Change: (no net change)
	Voted: total increase of 3227,060,000 RfR1
	(i) A net transfer of £227,060,000 from non voted provision as follows:
	a. a transfer from departmental unallocated provision to Network Rail capital grants (£258,060,000); partially offset by
	b. a transfer of £5,100,000 from headroom on other transport grants (£3,100,000) and aviation services, transport security and royal travel (£2,000,000) to the shared services transformation project; and
	c. a transfer of £25,900,000 2012 Olympics underspend to the departmental unallocated provision for use on this programme in future years.
	Non-voted: total decrease of £227,060,000
	(i) A net transfer of £227.060,000 to voted provision.